El Dorado Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB) is situated 70 kilometres from Georgetown. Except for one Indian Guyanese family, its entire population of some 500 is African Guyanese. The village is bordered by Foulis, Belladrum, backdams and the Atlantic Ocean.
El Dorado is not the lost city of gold, but it could be considered a ‘city of friendship’. People can be seen interacting from one end of the village to the next, some sitting at shops, at the bus shed, riding side by side and in one particular yard where a wake was being held, two boys played draughts while their friends looked on.
At one house, labourers fetched sand off the road, some men in the yard were fixing the concrete walkway and a woman with a few children watered flower plants and put them in pots. Auntie Debbie (only name given), worked along with them; she is the owner of the property.